Leeds United boss Daniel Farke has been urged to consider dropping one man for the second leg of their Championship play-off semi-final clash with Norwich City on Thursday.
Spoils shared at Carrow Road
In one of the more forgettable Championship play off games, Leeds and Norwich played out a 0-0 draw in Sunday sunshine at Carrow Road, leaving the Yorkshire outfit with a slender advantage heading back home in four days' time.
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Heavy favourites to go up going into the play-offs, Farke's side created little but dominated the ball, appearing happy to walk away with the tie still in the balance given their recent run of wretched form.
They have never been promoted through the play-offs in five attempts, and will be hoping that history doesn't repeat itself this time around, given that they were well-placed to secure automatic promotion before their late slump.
Leeds' play-off record (League One and Championship)
Year
Exit stage
2019
Semi-final
2009
Semi-final
2008
Final
2006
Final
1987
Final
But Farke may need to make some tweaks to his side in the home leg to ensure they get past a stubborn Norwich defence, and now he has been urged to drop one player in particular.
Attacker under fire from former Leeds player
That comes in the form of Georginio Rutter, who struggled in the east Anglian sunshine. The Frenchman started the game as a lone striker, but managed just a single shot, and lost 9 of his 15 duels. In his 70 minutes on the pitch, he also managed to complete just six passes, roughly one every 12 minutes. Given that his side saw 60% of the ball across the game, more would have been expected from the Leeds frontman.
Now, Farke has been urged to drop Rutter for the return leg by ex-Leeds defender Jon Newsome, who claimed Joel Piroe made more of an impact from the bench than Rutter managed from the start.
“I hate to say it, but he was really poor today. Nothing stuck. He is that kind of player that really frustrates you, but also has that little sparkle of magic.
“That magic dust has disappeared for the moment and he has been missing for quite a while. Joel Piroe came on, I thought Norwich looked a bit leggy and looked a bit tired, so that gives you an advantage.
“When you have got fresh legs, I think he [Piroe] made more of an impact in the last 20-25 minutes than Rutter had the whole game. Definitely gives Daniel Farke food for Thursday night in his selection.”
Rutter's record this season has been impressive, but the Frenchman's form has suffered along with his side's, and the 22-year-old last found the back of the net in February, a run stretching across 14 starts – though he has grabbed six assists in that time.
With Patrick Bamford's injury set to rule him out of both the upcoming game and any potential final, it will fall on someone else to score the goals to take Leeds up, and Rutter may not be up to the task based on Sunday's showing.